Philips Bullish about India’s Smartphone Market

Keeping in mind the burgeoning opportunities in the smartphone segment, the Philips brand of mobile phones is making its re-entry into the Indian market and its range will be will sold under China Electronics Corporation (CEC), the parent group of Sangfei, which acquired the global mobile phone business of Philips in early 2007 and owns the marketing and selling rights for Philips and Xenium brands. TelecomDrive.com spoke with SS Bassi, Country Manager, India, Overseas Sales, Shenzhen Sang Fei, Consumer Communications Co Ltd on its current and future plans for India.  

Philips Mobile is making its re-entry into the Indian market now. What are your priorities?

Philips was present in India and it was well entrenched as a brand but we decided to exit the Indian market as at that point in time, we had limited product portfolio and it was all focused towards the feature phone segment. Now, we are coming back with our smartphone range which is ideally suited for the Indian consumers.

Our priorities are simple, we want to create a big impact in the Indian smartphone segment. Our products are unique in the way they carry the values and quality assurance of Philips. And as far as the consumer is concerned, there is a big connect with the Philips brand.

Why did the company leave India earlier and why do you think the time is right now?

Philips exited the mobile business because, the company focused only on feature phones, however we have been quite unique in terms of supporting all our customers on the service and warranty front. All these years, we have supported our customers on their issues with our mobiles even though we were not operating in the market. This is the promise that we kept with the consumers who bought our products.

Can you please share your expectations from the Indian market?

India is a huge market and we are quite upbeat about this market now. We strongly feel that as a country, India is on the forefront of global technology today and we want to play our part when it comes to providing the true next generation technology at an affordable cost. We have big expectations from the Indian market, but I cannot disclose any figures today.

What would be your channel strategy to push your smartphones in India?

We have already signed up with Redington India as our national distributor and they will be pushing our product into the market. They are an ideal partner as they have all the length and the breadth in the country to cater to big market needs. We are also partnering with Accel Frontline to service our smartphones and mobile products in India.

How do you look at the competition coming in from global, Chinese and Indian manufacturers here?

Yes, we agree that there is a lot of competition in India, but at the same time, India is a huge market and hence there is a huge opportunity in front of us. At the end of the day, customers want to go with the best quality at an affordable price point. This is what we intend to provide to our potential customers. And after partnering with Redington, we are quite confident that we would get the right exposure in India.

Please share the international geographies that Philips is focusing on, when are you launching your operations in the Middle East and Africa?

We are very strong in China and the Russian Federation today. Very soon we are going to launch our products in the Middle East and Africa markets as well.